


Heartbeats

by Musetotheworld



Series: Supercat Week 3 [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, Happy Ending, Mild Angst, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-19 16:00:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10643235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musetotheworld/pseuds/Musetotheworld
Summary: When soulmates are born, they share heartbeats. As you meet your soulmate and grow closer you begin to share more of who you are, with those who are most in sync with the other able to share even their thoughts.





	

To say that the doctors on Krypton were puzzled when Kara Zor-El’s heartbeat suddenly altered when she was two would be an understatement. There was no reason for the change, no cause their considerable knowledge could discern. It was an anomaly, one that created quite a stir. Only the standing of the House of El kept it from becoming a scandal.

And through it all, an oblivious Kara played on.

She didn’t care about her heartbeat, or why it was faster than that of most Kryptonians. It was a warmth in her chest that she would curl up around to sleep, would feel within her as she played with her toys, or worked on her studies. It was a constant presence; both part of her and somehow separate in a way she could never explain to the doctors who studied her.

The warmth stays with her as she floats through the Phantom Zone, holding the chill of the space at bay. And though Kara’s mind is only peripherally aware of the passage of time in the galaxy around her, she never loses track of her heartbeat, or the way it fluctuates seemingly at random. Whatever she’s connected to, it keeps her going, keeps her focused inward rather than staring out into the void.

When she lands on Earth and the warmth of the yellow sun washes over her, she feels a brief moment of panic that the special heat in her chest will blend into the sensation. She’s held to that feeling for so long that she doesn’t know what she would do without it.

But she doesn’t have to worry long, even as she feels warmer under this light, she feels the presence in her chest deepen and strengthen as well, wrapping around her heart in a way that somehow makes Kara feel at home. She’s lost everything of Krypton, lost her purpose in coming to Earth, but she still has this.

Kara’s been on Earth for three years before she realizes that Jeremiah and Eliza have the same heartbeat, down to the second. She’d never paid attention before, usually focusing in on Alex’s heartbeat when she’s stressed rather than theirs.

“Eliza, why do you and Jeremiah have the same heartbeat?” Kara asks one day after she gets up the courage to ask about it. She’d worried that it was something private, but eventually her curiosity got the better of her.

“It’s part of our soulmate bond,” Eliza says with a smile, and Kara relaxes when she sees no hesitation in her face. “We share heartbeats, dreams, even thoughts sometimes. You remember about soulmate bonds, right?”

Kara nods, familiar with the concept at least in the abstract. Learning more about the bonds had never seemed important to her, it was such a human concept that she assumed it didn’t apply to her. Krypton hadn’t had soulmates.

“Well, in a soulmate pair, when the second person is born, the heartbeat of the first changes to match that of the second. It’s the first sign of your match, the first sign you’re bound together. The other signs, you have to work for. Sharing thoughts is difficult to manage, you have to be completely in sync with each other. But heartbeats are always there, reminding you that the universe sees something in the two of you that matches to the other person,” Eliza explains, and Kara nods slowly as she absorbs the information.

“So if my heartbeat changed two years after I was born, do you think that means I have a soulmate here?” she asks, not sure whether she wants to hear the answer. She’s had secrecy drilled into her for three years, and the thought of sharing everything about herself with someone is both exhilarating and terrifying.

“I suppose it could,” Eliza says slowly, the same wariness Kara feels crossing her face. “I’ll have to talk to Jeremiah about it.”

Kara just nods again before leaving the room, heading upstairs to her bedroom. She’s got a lot to think about before she can decide whether she likes the idea of having a human soulmate or not.

***

She’s just turned 18 when Kara realizes the downside of soulmates. She’s seen how happy Eliza and Jeremiah are, even when his new job keeps him away for long periods of time she’d often see Eliza staring off into the distance with a smile on her face, and had known that wherever he was, Jeremiah was thinking of them. She’s also seen the flashes of worry, but Eliza had always told her not to worry about it, and eventually Kara had managed to put those times out of her mind.

But when Jeremiah dies in the plane crash, Kara finds out that once your heartbeats are bound to each other, there’s no reversing it. Jeremiah falls from the sky, and Eliza falls to the ground, her own heart struggling and failing to find a rhythm without its twin.

Their graves are side by side, Eliza’s body next to an empty coffin, and Kara can’t stop the tears that stream down her face as she watches the Earth take this family from her. The universe must have a sick sense of humor to inflict this kind of loss on her so many times over.

It’s not until months later that Kara realizes that Eliza never had to face a world that didn’t include her soulmate, never had to deal with that loss. And she begins to think that maybe, just maybe, that isn’t such a bad thing after all.

***

Alex had already moved to National City for college the year before, and Kara hesitates only briefly before following. She’d lived in the house by the ocean for the entirety of her time on Earth, and to her the walls represented warmth and security in a way little else on the planet could. But every room was full of memories and echoes of emotions, and it was too much for Kara to handle on her own. She needed to at least be in the same city as Alex, even if her sister’s studies kept her too busy for them to hang out the way they had as kids. Just knowing she was there was enough.

She’s glad when Alex graduates, though the lab she works at keeps her almost as busy. At least now she has more time for sister nights, and the strain of their relationship gradually eases as they spend time together again. And when Kara graduates, Alex is right there cheering her on.

She doesn’t tell Alex about her interview with Cat Grant, knowing that her sister will never approve of Kara working for someone so high profile. If Alex had her way, Kara would probably work in some dusty back room with minimal human interaction to protect her identity, but that isn’t what Kara wants.

It’s a risk, yes. Even though Kara doesn’t use her powers, she still has them. And working for a renowned investigative journalist isn’t exactly the smartest thing to do when you have secrets the size of a planet in your background. But Kara wants to make a difference, however she can, and maybe being Cat’s assistant will give that to her.

As soon as she walks into the office for her interview, Kara knows she shouldn’t take the job. She knows it beyond any doubt. And yet she still walks out of the office with an offer and directions to show up at 7am the next morning to be done with HR before Cat showed up. It was the wrong decision, but Kara couldn’t bring herself to care.

Because as soon as she’d entered the office, her hearing had picked up on Cat’s heartbeat, and how precisely it matched her own. Of all the ways Kara had imagined meeting her soulmate, interviewing for a position as their assistant hadn’t been one of them, but she can’t bring herself to walk away now. And she doesn’t have another way to get close to Cat, not without revealing that she’d heard the woman’s heartbeat from across the room, something no human was capable of.

Alex is already going to kill her, Kara really doesn’t want to add another reason.

***

It ends up not being that bad, really. Cat has a habit of keeping people at a distance, and Kara is no exception to that. And without any closeness developing between them, the only bond they share is their heartbeats. Which is enough for Kara, she loves hearing Cat’s heart beating in time with her own. It’s reassuring somehow, and now that she’s met her soulmate, she’s started to wonder if her thoughts on the matter have been wrong.

True, it’s not some whirlwind romance the way most movies and books show soulmates meeting and getting together. But it is a knowledge that she isn’t alone. And that may not be everything, but to someone who’s lost nearly everything twice now, it means a lot.

And gradually, they begin to grow closer. Kara lasts beyond the average assistant, and Cat begins to see her as more than just a passing face. She’s still tough, but there are moments of mentorship that remind Kara why she’d wanted this job in the first place. And there are even moments where Cat is genuinely kind, not bothering to hide her advice behind barbs and quips.

Kara lives for those moments, and for the praise Cat offers when she’s truly earned it. It doesn’t come often, but when it does Kara has to check to be sure she isn’t floating, she feels so weightless.

It takes about a year for their feelings to start echoing across the bond. Kara had half expected that they never would, but the first time she feels Cat’s annoyance as clearly as if it were her own, she understands immediately. Only her old meditation techniques keep her from broadcasting worry to Cat, but it’s a near thing. They’ve grown closer, obviously, but that doesn’t mean Cat is expecting this. Or that she’ll be open to it.

And sure enough, the first time Kara can’t keep her happiness contained, she sees Cat freeze and feels a wave of panic that isn’t her own. Which is about what Kara had expected, so she doesn’t react beyond pouring Cat a glass of scotch and making her way back to her desk to rearrange Cat’s schedule for today and tomorrow. She can only imagine the amount of alcohol Cat will go through tonight, trying to understand what this means. Or at least trying to decide what to do next.

Sure enough, Cat turns up the next day visibly hungover, and Kara makes sure to keep water, lattes, and pain meds flowing as the day passes, not saying a word to make Cat’s struggle worse. Better to let Cat come to grips with it first, then follow her lead. After all, soulmates are a human thing, and only one of them is actually human. Kara is completely out of her depth on this one.

“Balcony, please,” Cat says roughly a week later, walking outside and waiting for Kara to follow. “This isn’t a work conversation, as I’m sure you can guess.”

“I’d assumed, Miss Grant,” Kara says carefully, still waiting to see where Cat is going with this.

“Kara, I think for this, you’d better call me Cat,” comes the unexpected response, and Kara can’t help gaping at her in surprise. “Given the...personal...nature of this conversation, it seems wrong to have it as boss and employee.”

“I agree...Cat,” Kara says hesitantly, still not quite comfortable when it comes to actually calling her boss by her name. She may call her Cat in her mind, but to her face is something else entirely, something that seems somehow more intimate despite their still professional setting.

“You understand what’s going on here, yes?” Cat asks carefully, clearly not wanting to start the conversation off the wrong way. And Kara can feel her mingled hope and fear, and the overwhelming layer of caution that covers both. Cat may be a master at masking her visible emotions, but to Kara she’s an open book. Only long practice hiding keeps Kara from broadcasting her own emotions right back, not wanting to overwhelm Cat with the intensity of her own hope and fear.

“We’re sharing emotions,” Kara says carefully, trying to remember how she’s heard humans describe their soul bonds. “I can feel what you feel, and you can feel what I feel, when our emotions are strong enough.”

“Does that...are you okay with that?” Cat asks, uncharacteristically hesitant as she stumbles over her words in a way Kara has never seen. “I mean, are you comfortable continuing as my assistant now that we know this?”

Kara wants to laugh, wants to point out that she’s known from the very beginning, but she can’t. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

“I am. I like being your assistant,” is all she says instead, ducking her head a little at the admission. Her soulmate is a CEO, incredibly accomplished and successful, and she’s just admitted to being content in a position that’s nothing in comparison.

She can tell the moment her embarrassment echoes across to Cat when she sits back with a frown, and Kara holds her breath as she waits for the rebuke she’s sure is coming. She isn’t quite sure what it will be for, what she’s done wrong, but she still expects it. Kara just hopes it doesn’t end with her being fired. She can take never being more to Cat than this, but she can’t take being sent away.

“If you aren’t truly happy, Kara, then we can find you another position. You’re talented enough to deserve that much, though for obvious reasons I couldn’t be involved in the transfer. You aren’t stuck working for me if that’s not what you want.” Cat sounds completely serious, and Kara can’t help looking up in shock. That was not what she’d expected.

“No, I am happy, I promise,” she says quickly, stumbling over her words as she rushes to explain. “I just, admitting that I am, when you’re _you_ , I felt silly. Please don’t send me away.”

Kara tries desperately to keep control of her loneliness and fear of abandonment, but she can tell she doesn’t quite manage. Cat probably doesn’t get a clear sense of how deep the emotions run, but the sympathy Kara feels in return tells her that something was shared.

“I won’t,” Cat promises, hand twitching as if she’s holding herself back from reaching out. “But as long as you’re my assistant, you know that nothing can come of this, right? It would be highly inappropriate.”

Kara knows Cat well enough to know that even if she’d taken another position or left the company entirely they wouldn’t have been starting anything, but she doesn’t call Cat out on that. Realizing someone is your soulmate is always a shock, even when you know the person well. For someone like Cat, someone more accustomed to being left than finding someone supposedly meant to stick around, that level of connection and intimacy is a frightening thought. And knowing that, Kara can’t push, can’t do anything but nod her agreement.

As long as she still has a place at Cat’s side, that’s enough.

***

It’s another six months of gradually deepening connection before they share their first dream, and Kara is grateful that the first one Cat appears in is perfectly innocent. So many of her dreams are of Krypton, even still, and she has no idea how to explain that scenery when she’s supposed to be hiding her identity.

Thankfully Cat drops in on her while she’s dreaming of the beach back in Midvale, of the peaceful hours she’d spent staring out over the ocean. It’s still a shock, still almost enough to jolt Kara awake, but after a moment to recover she smiles. For Cat to be here, looking around with undisguised curiosity, means she’s started to accept that they’re soulmates. It’s a sign they’ve gotten even closer, and Kara feels almost giddy at that thought.

“You grew up on a beach?” Cat says once she’s finished looking around, looking back at Kara with a raised brow. “From your mannerisms and clothing style, I would have guessed some small town in the Midwest.”

Kara flushes as she thinks of the little habits she’d picked up from her cousin in the few days she’d lived with him, and knows Cat has reason to think that. Back when she’d been learning everything she could about this world at an alarming rate, some of Kal-El’s Kansas boy mannerisms had rubbed off on her, and never faded.

“I did. I came to live with the Danvers when I was 13, and I loved to watch the ocean. It was always so calming.” She’d spent entire days sitting on the beach soaking in the sun, not moving except to eat the meals Eliza brought out to her, letting the rushing of the waves sink into her mind, washing over her grief and gradually wearing the sharpest edges down.

Cat doesn’t ask what happened to bring her to the Danvers, and Kara is glad. Even in the dream she’s sure Cat feels some of what she’s feeling, and the instant understanding means everything to Kara.

“It’s lovely,” Cat agrees, crossing to sit next to Kara with only the slightest hesitation. “I’ve never been the biggest fan of sand, but this is nice.”

A single thought has a towel appearing under Cat where she’s sprawled, and Kara smiles with victory. She’d learned how to control and change her dreams back on Krypton, but she’d never quite mastered it. Most of the time she just lets the dreams take her where they will.

Cat sends a grateful smile her way when she feels the change in texture beneath her, and Kara barely manages to keep from floating in response. Controlling her powers is always so much harder in her dreams.

No words are needed between them as they sit and watch the ocean, and though they don’t lean closer to each other or close the distance between them in any way, each is completely aware of the other’s presence. The silence is enough for them both, the silence and each other.

They spend many more nights exploring each other’s dreams, and eventually Kara dreams of Krypton. She’s scared the first time Cat appears next to her under Rao’s light, but Cat never says anything, never questions it. She just seems to accept that dreams can be strange and wonderful things that can take you wherever you can imagine, and they leave it at that.

She knows they’ve reached another level of trust when Cat’s emotions start leaking into the dream, changing their surroundings as their subconscious begin to merge. They really are growing closer, and Kara is surprised when Cat doesn’t panic again. At this point they both seemed to have accepted the situation and the various realities that come with it. They still aren’t explicitly heading towards anything romantic, but Kara can tell Cat is starting to lose the hesitation she feels at the thought.

The longer Kara stays around, the deeper this bond between them grows, and the more Kara can feel the deep set fears in Cat fade. And the more she starts to wonder if maybe she should tell Cat the truth about who she is and where she comes from.

But Alex is a constant voice of caution in her ear if not her heart, and Kara is too used to hiding the truth by now. No matter how she longs to share everything with Cat, no matter how she trusts the woman, the simple fact is Kara is an alien. And even after two years, she doesn’t know how Cat will react to that fact.

It’s not until Alex is in danger and Kara flies to save the day that the push into full honesty comes. Because as soon as the news starts to break, Kara can _feel_ Cat’s understanding, shock, and betrayal. Suddenly those ‘creative’ dreams have taken on a new meaning, and Cat is not a stupid woman. The similarities between the woman who saved the plane and Superman aren’t subtle, and Cat has information no one else does about the situation.

Which is why instead of returning to her apartment to wait for Alex, Kara quickly changes and flies across the city to Cat’s apartment, landing on the balcony and hoping this doesn’t blow up in her face. She won’t be able to stay long, but she has at least until Alex has been looked over by the paramedics to explain.

Cat is silent as she opens the door, but she steps back far enough to let Kara in, so she counts it as a win. She wishes Cat’s emotions were giving her more of a clue, but the initial shock has faded and Cat is in tight control of whatever it is she’s feeling. There isn’t anything to pick up on because Cat has pushed her emotions down too far in order to have this conversation.

“That’s one hell of a secret, Kara,” Cat finally says, and Kara winces at the coldness of her tone.

“I know,” she nods, not bothering to try and defend herself, not yet. Better to let Cat get the well-deserved anger and sense of betrayal out before she tries that.

“You know? That’s all you have to say? I just found out my damn soulmate is an alien from the evening news, and all you can say is you know?” There’s a touch of anger slipping into Cat’s stance, and echoing across the bond at Kara now, but underneath that is an edge of fear that nearly puts tears in Kara’s eyes. She’d never wanted Cat to be afraid of her.

“I can go, if you don’t want me here,” she says weakly, gesturing at the door behind her as she fights to keep from shrinking back.

“Don’t you dare walk out that door,” Cat says, as fierce and determined as Kara has ever seen her. “Damnit Kara, don’t you dare. You can’t just expect me to deal with this on my own.”

“But you’re scared of me,” Kara bursts out when Cat steps closer, not sure what else there is to say. She can still feel that edge of fear grating along her nerves, and she’ll do whatever it takes to make it stop, to show Cat there’s no reason to be afraid. Even if that means leaving.

“I’m scared you’re going to leave, you insufferable alien idiot,” Cat says with exasperation that barely manages to cover the honesty of the sentiment. “I could ruin you, Kara. And the smart thing to do would be to fly off and away, and we both know that. So damnit, I’m scared you’re going to do the right thing and leave me.”

Kara can only shake her head at that for a long moment, because it’s completely unlike anything she’d expected to hear. “Leave you? Cat, I’m terrified that you’re going to send me away.”

They look at each other for a long moment before both suddenly collapsing into hysterics. It isn’t funny, it isn’t anywhere close to amusing, but the sheer unexpectedness of the whole thing demands a release.

“We really are a pair, aren’t we,” Cat says when they stop laughing, not moving from where they’ve both collapsed onto the couch, despite the way she’s all but curled into Kara’s side. It’s the closest they’ve ever been, and Kara can’t help wondering what it would be like to kiss Cat right now.

The way Cat’s eyes widen as soon as she thinks it is the only clue Kara has that they’ve moved to the level of connection that allows thoughts to be shared between them before she hears Cat’s voice in her head wondering the same thing.

That’s all they seem to need, lips meeting as they each move to close the distance between them. It’s another release, another emotional catharsis, but this time it actually helps to settle the tension between them. Something about the intimacy that comes from this, from knowing that they’ve fallen so deeply into each other that their minds have become as one as their souls is pushing them together in a way neither wants to fight.

It’s not until Kara’s phone buzzes in her pocket that they pull apart, Kara’s split focus jarring the connection and shaking their minds from the connection. They’re both dazed by the abrupt transition, but Kara knows that it has to be Alex calling her so she fights through the fog to refocus.

“Hey Alex,” she says when she answers, barely managing to connect before Alex is sent to voicemail.

 _“Where are you, Kara?”_ Alex says worriedly, and with a start Kara realizes just how long she’d been lost in kissing Cat.

“I’m not home, I had something to do,” she explains, trying to avoid getting into any more of an explanation in front of Cat. She’s fairly certain Alex will be much less than happy about this latest development, and the last thing Kara wants is to give Cat a reason for second thoughts.

“Just, are you okay?” Alex asks, and Kara can hear her pacing. “Are you safe?”

“I should be asking you that,” Kara says, her own worry for Alex quickly rising back to the surface. “You must have been terrified.”

 _“I still am,”_ Alex mutters under her breath, and Kara wonders if she’d been meant to hear that, or if not having Kara in front of her made Alex less wary of her powers. _“Where are you, Kara. I’ll come to you.”_

“No, I can come there,” Kara says instantly, wincing as Cat shoots her a look at how quickly she’d spoken. Even without being able to hear Alex, her tone had been a little too panicked to play off.

 _“I don’t want you out where you might be recognized,”_ Alex disagrees, and Kara fights to keep from whining. She knows Alex means well, but she’s already afraid of seeming childish to Cat.

“But I need to know you’re safe,” Kara says, wishing she could see Alex already. Now that she’s not distracted, her concern for her sister’s well-being is becoming overwhelming.

Cat lays a gently soothing hand on her knee with a soft look, helping to center Kara as she fights the urge to fly off the balcony in search of Alex no matter what her sister says. _“Then tell me where you are and I’ll come to you,”_ Alex says, voice tight with impatience as Kara hesitates again.

“You won’t like it,” Kara says quietly, hearing Alex come to a complete stop on the other end of the line. “I’m, I’m at Cat’s.”

 _“Cat Grant, your boss?”_ Alex asks in disbelief, and Kara nods even knowing her sister can’t see her. _“Kara, what the hell? Why are you at the Queen of All Media’s apartment on the night you should be hiding at home safely out of sight?”_

Kara wishes she’d done this differently, that she’d told Alex the truth sometime over the course of the last two years, rather than in the worst way possible. “She’s my soulmate,” she explains softly, waiting with baited breath for Alex’s reaction as Cat tenses next to her. She half expects Cat to pull back or object to Kara telling anyone else, but all she can feel is acceptance and warmth from Cat.

“She can come over if she wants, I have guest rooms for you both,” Cat says quietly, and the understanding in her voice nearly makes Kara melt on the spot. Of all the things she’d considered from this night, what had actually happened would never have made the list.

“Alex, just please, wait to react until you get here,” Kara says pleadingly, having already known that Alex would be on her way as soon as she recovered from the news. She’d been planning on meeting her in the lobby, but Cat’s invitation will be much better.

 _“Fine,”_ is all Alex says before hanging up, and Kara takes a deep breath, knowing the hours ahead will be difficult. She knows it will be worth it, she just hopes the journey through isn’t as bad as she’s afraid.

***

In the end it takes Alex two months to warm up to Cat, but Kara is patient. She isn’t willing to lose either of them, so they’ll just have to learn to get along.

Learning to be Supergirl is difficult but rewarding, and she’s grateful that she has both Alex and Cat to help her through it, each in their own way. Alex pushes her to be better, drills her in tactics and fighting styles, trying to keep Kara alive through battles they can’t imagine yet. And Cat critiques her mistakes, never holding back but always helping Kara to see what she’d missed, what path to take going forward.

So many times Kara puts on the cape and gets the thanks of the city, and each time she wishes she could shout from the rooftops that she doesn’t deserve it, that there are others in her life who are far greater heroes than she is. But secret identities make doing so impossible, and dangerous for those same people if she were to give in to the urge. No, it’s better to stay quiet and accept the praise, uncomfortable though it makes her feel. It’s not that big a sacrifice when contrasted with the risk of losing her family.

So when Cat is in danger anyway, Kara wants to rail at the universe for hours over the unfairness of it all. She’d held back from praising Cat to keep anyone from linking the two of them, and yet she still ends up kidnapped to draw out Supergirl. It just wasn’t fair, even if Kara knows that letting the world know the truth would only make the danger greater.

It’s all Alex can do to keep her from rushing into danger the first time Kara feels the edges of Cat’s fear, but Cat would be the first person to yell at Kara for taking such a risk, and Kara knows it. That and Alex are the only things that keep her in place, at least until the flash of genuine terror that flashes through the bond.

Once Kara feels that there’s no holding her back, because simple fear means the situation is under control, but terror is something else entirely. Cat Grant might get scared, though she’ll never admit it. But she never lets a situation get to her to the point of genuine panic. And that means that something has gone horribly wrong.

It’s too sudden for Kara to have seen it coming, but she still blames herself for not racing in immediately as soon as she feels it. If she’d just ignored the sensible voices of caution, Cat might be safe right now. This might already be over.

It’s a matter of seconds before Kara is crashing through the roof to land next to Cat and the alien that had dared to abduct her, eyes already growing red as she fights to keep control. Cat may be in danger, but there are still lines she can’t cross.

“I expected you sooner, Kara Zor-El,” Non says as she lands, his own eyes losing their fire as they look up from where he’d been dragging heat vision slowly towards Cat’s chair. “I thought you’d embraced the barbaric idea of soulmates these humans preach. You can feel her fear, yes? And yet it was nearly her screams that drew you here.”

“Let her go, Non,” Kara growls, moving to step closer until she sees him twitch towards where Cat still sits, staring at them both with a look of wide eyed dread. How frail she seems, contrasted with the Kryptonians. How easily she could break, with the slightest twitch of Non’s muscles.

Humans aren’t meant for the battles between gods.

“And why should I do that when I hold the ultimate power over you? Your greatest weakness, more even than Kryptonite. I hold your life in my hands.” Non sounds completely calm, and Kara feels her hatred for him rising, echoing across her bond with Cat so strongly that she can _see_ when Cat feels it.

Something about the depth of the emotional connection between them in that moment seems to trigger the next stage of their bond, and suddenly Kara can hear the terror of Cat’s thoughts as strongly as she can feel it. She can hear Cat’s pleading to be safe, to save her only because if Cat dies then she dies as well. Cat is terrified for her, for Carter and Adam, but not for herself. And that gives Kara all the strength she needs.

She isn’t quite fast enough though, crossing the distance the barest fraction of a second too late to stop Non’s hand from impacting with Cat’s chest, sending her flying across the room.

Kara crumples after barrels into him, knees no longer supporting her weight as she waits to feel her heart stutter and stop, horror keeping her in place as she realizes she hadn’t been fast enough, that she’d failed to keep Cat safe. That she’d cost two boys their mother, Alex her sister, and a city their protector, all because she couldn’t run any faster.

It’s not until Non stands, glaring her way, that Kara realizes she can still feel Cat, still hear her thoughts and feel her strength. Whatever Non had done hadn’t been enough, and now it’s time for Kara to end this, to make sure he can’t hurt those she loves ever again.

The battle is short once she realizes that, and by the time the DEO arrives Kara has Non unconscious and on the brink of total power loss. Once she was fighting to protect Cat he hadn’t stood a chance, and Alex looks vaguely impressed as she surveys the damage to the inside of the warehouse.

But Kara doesn’t have time to notice, she’s too busy rushing to Cat’s side where her soulmate is still lying under the rubble from the wall she’d crashed through. And if not for the strength and clarity of her thoughts Kara would be certain that moving the stones and girders would reveal a broken wreck barely hanging onto life, but there is no edge of pain to what Kara can sense, just impatience and a continuous ‘I’m fine, get on with it’ from Cat.

As soon as Kara’s moved the last of the debris Cat is standing, waving off the hand extended to help her as she looks down at herself. Kara can feel the shock and amazement at the lack of even a bruise after the blow that should have killed her, but there are others around and Cat has an image to maintain.

“This was a new outfit, Supergirl. Tell whoever that man was that I’ll be sending him a bill.” Cat’s voice wavers only the slightest bit, and to anyone that doesn’t know her the glare would seem genuine, but Kara can tell that the strength is nothing more than a mask, one that could fail at any moment.

“I’ll deliver it myself,” Kara promises before scooping Cat into her arms, not giving her a chance to protest before taking off and heading back to the DEO. Alex will meet them there, but first Kara wants one of the medical team to look over Cat and make sure she’s really okay.

The tests don’t take long, but by the end no one has any answers for them. Cat’s blood panels come back clean, as do all of the scans the doctors take. There’s no explanation for why Cat took what should have been a fatal blow to the chest without even a lingering tenderness.

“I just don’t understand, Alex!” Kara exclaims once her sister arrives, pacing around the room as Cat looks at her in amusement and Alex in bewilderment. “I don’t have any idea what happened.”

“Okay, walk me through it one more time,” Alex says soothingly as she steps in front of Kara, stopping her from wearing a hole through the floor. “You showed up, Non threatened her, then what?”

“I hated him,” Kara admits, closing her eyes as she thinks back to what happened. She hates remembering the sickening feeling the hatred had caused, but if Alex can help them she needs to know everything. “He threatened Cat, and I hated him.”

“I could feel it, but it was more than that,” Cat jumps in, and Kara’s eyes pop open as she looks across the room with apology in her eyes, sorry she’d made Cat share that part of her. “Oh, quit giving me that look, Kara. I’m a grown woman, I’ve felt hatred more than once in my life. You’ll get your chance to see the next time my mother comes to town, I’m sure.”

“Focus, you two,” Alex interjects, shooting Kara a soothing look. “What do you mean by more?”

“It was her thoughts, her concern, but it was also as if I felt her, all of her. Not just her emotions and thoughts but also her strength and courage. As if she were sharing that with me.” Kara stares at Cat in shock when she hears that, because she’d felt the same, but had assumed it was Cat’s strength, Cat’s certainty.

“I thought it was just what you were feeling,” Kara says softly, and Alex hums thoughtfully as she looks between them.

“I think it’s another level of the soul bond. I want to try something.” She looks so focused that Kara doesn’t argue, though she does feel a flash of worry at what kind of test Alex has in mind. “Relax, Kara. Just go stand next to Cat, and you two try to bond as deeply as you can. Preferably without making out, but if that’s what it takes then I’ll raid Cat’s bar later and be fine.”

“After today I might just let you,” Cat jokes as Kara crosses to her side, reaching out and pulling her even closer. “Relax, Kara. I’m safe. Just let yourself feel that I’m safe, that we’re safe.”

Closing her eyes and leaning to rest her forehead against Cat’s, Kara does as instructed, letting herself feel the depth of the connection between them. For long moments it’s just a constant thread of Cat’s emotions, but before long it deepens as their breaths sync, and she can hear the music of Cat’s thoughts against her own.

And then the connection deepens once more as Kara feels her love for this woman rise, matched by the depth of emotion Cat feels for her. And as that love flows between them, Kara can feel Cat’s courage and conviction in her bones, can feel as her strength settles into Cat’s bones and skin. In this moment they’re tied together as if one person, and when Alex attempts to draw blood once more, the needle breaks off without making a mark in Cat’s skin.

“Definitely a soul bond thing,” Alex says in awe, but neither Cat nor Kara can tear their attention away from the closeness to answer her. “Okay, I think I would have preferred you two making out. I’m just gonna go now,” she says when neither reacts, and Kara and Cat both smile at the same moment, still completely in sync with the other.

 _I wish this were permanent_ , Kara thinks as they begin to separate once more, knowing Cat can still hear her.

“I don’t think I’d ever get anything done,” Cat says, sneaking a kiss before she pulls back, running a hand through her hair. “But I know what you mean.”

“I’m glad it was you, Cat,” Kara says as she helps Cat stand, ready to head home and be done with this day.

“Oh, Kara. As if it could have been anyone else.”

 


End file.
